Region 16 Director

Bruce, a veteran social worker, currently serves as the Program Director for the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services Board serving Mercer, Van Wert, and Paulding Counties. A licensed social worker, Bruce has 25 years of experience working with adults and children living with mental health and substance use disorders. Bruce has also served as a member of her tri-county region’s Crisis Intervention Team, a program that brings together law enforcement, mental health professionals, advocates, people living with mental illness and their families, and other partners to improve community responses to people experiencing mental health crises.  In 2014, Bruce led a pilot project that paired medication-assisted treatment for Opioid Use Disorder with a certified drug court program. Through this experience, she learned of the devastating impact of the opioid epidemic on families and communities. At the same time, Bruce also witnessed the power of recovery and human resiliency. 

It is Bruce’s hope that the funding from the One Ohio Recovery Foundation will further cultivate prevention, treatment, and recovery supports to help all Ohioans heal from the impact of Opioid addiction.